Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he is worried by the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House – branding the former US leader’s claim that he could stop Ukraine’s war with Russia in 24 hours “very dangerous”.
In an interview with Channel 4 News on Friday, Mr Zelenskiy invited the former president and frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination to visit Kyiv – but only if Mr Trump delivers on his promise.
Mr Zelenskiy said: “Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war during 24 hours, I think it will be enough to come.”
The Ukrainian leader also shared his concern about the US taking unilateral action that fails to consider Ukraine’s perspective, noting the dearth of details around Mr Trump’s “peace plan”.
Mr Zelenskiy described the former president’s rhetoric as “very dangerous”, and appeared to be apprehensive over the possibility that Mr Trump’s idea of a negotiated solution might involve Ukraine making major concessions to Russia.
“(Mr Trump) is going to make decisions on his own, without … I’m not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us,” Mr Zelenskiy said.
“If he says this publicly, that’s a little scary. I’ve seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that’s really making me a bit stressed.”
He added: “Because even if his idea (for ending the war) – that no-one has heard yet – doesn’t work for us, for our people, he will do anything to implement his idea anyway. And this worries me a little.”
Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that he is well positioned to negotiate an end to the war that has raged for almost two years, saying he has a good relationship with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Throughout his political career, Mr Trump has frequently lavished praise on Russian president Vladimir Putin, including after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
At a campaign rally in Georgia just days after Russian tanks moved into Ukraine, Mr Trump described Mr Putin as a “smart” political player and expressed admiration for Russia’s swift takeover of a vast, “great piece of land” at the cost of what he suggested were relatively minor sanctions.
The US House of Representatives impeached Mr Trump when he was president, alleging he pressured Mr Zelenskiy to pursue a politically motivated probe that might hurt Joe Biden’s chance to win the 2020 presidential election while withholding $400 million (€366 million) in military aid that US congress approved to help Ukraine confront Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east.
The US Senate acquitted Mr Trump of the impeachment charges.
